Orochi - The Advent of Ruin Picture

"Step by step, these Lambs must be led to their torment. Only then will they understand the inevitable that will claim us all." - Rarteractas, leader of the Cult of the Fallen One

The Cult of the Fallen One, a nightmarish religious society, had terrorized the Universe for millennia's. They worshipped a terrifying deity most commonly called "The Fallen One", a being who would usher in the final end of the Universe. The Cult worked to catalyze this end, inflicting monstrous acts upon the Universe itself that, though individually small, added up to consequences that threw off the harmony of reality. Despite attempts by the Order to stop these fiends, the Cult constantly propagated and sewed discord wherever they went. Agents of the Order often found themselves suppressing the Cult's actions in one area only to get word that across the Universe more cultists were destabilizing existence. Although enigmatic at best, having no known organized fighting force or claim to any area of the Universe, the Cult of the Fallen One managed to do what even the most powerful empires couldn't, what even those with limitless wealth and strength feared.One of the Cult's most infamous acts was tampering with Hetheri cor Thegalyn (universal language for "Thegalyn's Heart", the last remnant of the Demigod of Destruction). Somehow, cultists, possibly corrupted Order agents, bypassed the strictest securities and managed to cause the shard to release a discharge of energy. Although but a mere fragment, even the most minuscule power of a Demigod, one with such rage at that, could shatter entire galaxies, which was exactly what happened. The area and everyone in it were instantly destroyed by the discharge, and the galaxy as well as the neighboring ones were annihilated in a single heartbeat. This sudden disruption, though able to be contained, was enough to set into motion a series of events that would lead to a universal cataclysm.

The Advent of Wrath"When the Lambs opened the first seal, the sounds of a being long forgotten began to stir once more. A body made of armor and ash, white smoke pouring from his form, the tyrant of another age shouted to all with a voice made of thunder 'Come and see!'"A figure, like a horse of conquest, rode out from the ashes of Hetheri cor Thegalyn's discharge. Followed by a mass of phantom soldiers, this being laid siege to all before him. The immortal, Zyteras, was relentless, never stopping and never showing reprieve. The Order was taken aback by this sudden besiegement, but quickly reacted by sending a legion of their own to suppress this discord. Although Zyteras's force was terrifying, it was short-lived. Only one brief battle was had between the Order and this spectral army. Zyeteras hacked apart countless harmony-keepers before he and his soldiers mysteriously vanished.Though only a momentary and seemingly random threat, reflection showed Zyeteras was echoing the conquest plans of major destructionists before him, such as that of the Black Sun Empire, Dai Zuroth's Hell, and the Shadow Realm. With the abruptness of which it happened and with no trace left of what had just transpired though, the Order considered this as just a flux, and went to repairing what had been damaged.

The Advent of Sorrow"When the Lambs opened the second seal, from the abyss awoke the dead one that had waited dreaming. On elder wings in maddening visage, the Universe was sundered by a sickening voice that called to the heavens 'Come and see!'"A mere ingtim-cycle after Zyteras's disappearance, a large object suddenly manifested near Xeia'vac Ki. It was classified as a world, but it was bigger than any world ever recorded in all of existence. What's more is that it was made of a strange geometry that hurt the very psyche of observers. For several cycles this object, labeled as R'lyeh (universal language for "Corpse-World") due to the strange energy it bled that withered anything it touched, hovered near Xeia'vac Ki. Close observation was attempted, by any observers that spent too much time even looking at a recreation of it from across the Universe fell mentally ill. Nobody seemed to be able to study R'lyeh. It was only after several cycles though that R'lyeh cracked, and from it an eldritch abomination emerged. Calling itself Cthulhu, its emergence immediately sent a blight across the Universe, maddening many as some sort of mental disease permeated everywhere at once. The fiendish entity moved through the cosmos, indifferent to what little resistance could be mounted against it. Cthulhu lasted for several cycles before it was seemingly absorbed by Xeia'vac Ki. With its disappearance, the mental instabilities it caused gradually faded, and life in the Universe stumbled back to health.Any study on this event, R'lyeh, and Cthulhu has been futile. When recovering from this event, reports were had that people were plagued by the memories of the supposed Great Arc of Infinity War, another event so poorly understood that many are still skeptical on whether it actually happened or if it was merely a hallucination brought on by the eldritch monster. Nevertheless, the Order created several branches to try to figure out what had just happened, these research teams led by esteemed scholar Lyecraft himself.

The Advent of Anguish"When the Lambs opened the third seal, four silhouettes came forth, in echo of the four from before. One for a quart for the wages, one for the seeds for the crops, one for the cost of the cattle, and one to damage the ichor left, they howled to the many stars 'Come and see!'"An arcturim-cycle passed after Cthulhu's rise and fall when four immortals, each arisen from a different species of dragon, emerged. These entities - identifying themselves as Kai'tro, Ra'tics, Fer'tor, & Xei'dras - were filled with wanton primordial energies, and they started enacting atrocities upon the living beings around them similar to what the Four Beasts did so very long ago. As such, they were collectively called the Shadows of Four. They tortured the souls around them, starving them as the Four themselves engorged themselves on strange energies harvested from their victims. This spread far enough to where it was affecting the Universe, and the Order reacted by sending a force to stop these vile immortals. Before they could be captured though, the Four disappeared, but unlike Zyteras and Cthulhu just before them, they didn't go alone. All their victims also vanished, and the sudden vacancy in life energy upset reality, shifting it.Whether the Shadows of the Four were offspring or echoes of the Four Beasts is something that cannot be determined. Many theories have been proposed as to what exactly these entities were, but nothing definite has been found. The Order launched a Universe-wide investigation to try to figure out what was going on, as surely these strange events happening so close to one another was no coincidence.

The Advent of Enmity"When the Lambs opened the fourth seal, the bodies of millions poured forth. A living firestorm that devoured the forests and mountains and seas, with a towering pillar at the very center, a legion said as one 'Come and see!'"Eighteen cycles passed with the Order spread across all of known existence when creatures emerged from between the strands of the Universe to ambush them. As if they were soldiers lying in wait, chilling monsters emerged everywhere at once, cutting down anything in their path and tearing apart the harmony-keepers with a particular horrifying purpose. Although taken by surprise, the Order managed to organize its forces and combat these monsters. They weren't able to identify these creatures from any previous records, but they deduced that these things were plant-like in nature, had a rapid proliferation rate, and were as organized as any strong military force. The Order identified what may have been the source of these monsters; a mysterious world in the Beyra Sector, uncomfortably close to Gates of Kardax, where a central intelligence resided and coordinated these creatures. This central intelligence, the Nyavene Collective, the swarm-mind embodiment of the Nyavene Body, declared itself an enemy of all. It was with this that the Nest Wars began. The inhabitants of the Universe, from individual mortal races to the Order itself waged war against these near-plant creatures. It was a bloody war, with everyone in it suffering great losses and pains. In just four solar-cycles though, an Order team led by Kardion himself fought their way through hordes of Nyavene warriors to reach the central hive. Kardion got one glimpse of the world-sized Nyavene Collective when, with a terrible shriek, it vanished, as well as the whole Nyavene Collective. Kardion and everyone in existence was left confused by this sudden ending.Although the Nyavene Collective was vanquished, no one felt like victory had been achieved. With the series of events that had been unfolding, nobody, even the Demigods, could let go of the feeling that these events were leading up to something more. When the Nest Wars were ended, nobody could settle down comfortably, as the feeling of worse things to come lingered over all.

The Advent of Ruin"When the Lambs opened the final seal, the hideous amalgam of those thought dead arose from a pale tomb. The jaws of death followed by a crimson flood, this creature was given a right over a fourth of all; to kill by fire, to kill by ice, to kill by venom, and to kill by the lightning in the sky. All could hear it and all would see, it roared to the Universe itself, 'Come and see!'"Throughout this series of events, one arisen race took particular interest. The Hydras observed and studied each event with a dedication that rivaled even the Order. They collected what they could from each event, preserving samples, dissecting them, making it their own. Although each event was a nightmare, the Hydras saw not doom, but potential. So many societies, so many empires, had come and gone. It was all fleeting. The Universe could never achieve a perfect state of balance, so what was the point of acting to try to upkeep it? Chaos was the ultimate truth. It was the way the Universe grew, and if it died, and everyone in it erased, then obviously this reality wasn't meant to persist.The Hydras gathered and welded the strange energies, infusing it into their guardian immortal-beast, creating what they believed would be the great catalyst for the evolution of the Universe. The beast rapidly mutated, growing in size and power. The carnage and strife from before ran through its veins. Its aggression increased until it became filled with nothing but raw, unrefined malice. The Hydras willingly accepted their extinction at the one who had protected them for so long, knowing that they had given their greatest contribution to the Universe.Orochi ascended, laying waste to all around it. Not only did the world it was on shatter, but the stars around it did to. The destruction only further fueled the monstrous serpent, making it grow larger and fiercer. With no higher directive other than to destroy, it strode across the very void itself, tearing apart everything in its path with a fury that could only be described as primal. Orochi carved a path of carnage across space until the Universe itself was beginning to slide into destruction. The Order responded to this threat, and were appalled by what they encountered.The sheer destructive energy this monster expended and absorbed made it transcend its origins, and even Kardion believed that Orochi was some new form of the Demigod of Destruction. There was no limit to the power Orochi had, its reservoir growing with each use of it. The Order fought it, but despite their best efforts, Orochi decimated them. Even Kardion, considered the most powerful immortal in known existence, was nearly killed by the raging beast. With the best of the Order helpless, and disharmony following this unstoppable menace, a drastic measure was taken. Several of the Demigods themselves descended to deal with Orochi themselves.

Orochi Yat No Amato (universal language for "The Great Fight Against Orochi")Not since the Dark Era had so many Demigods stood together. Indeed, it was Raankuu, the Demigod of the Mind, who stated that "When I looked upon this multi-headed serpent, I saw not just a beast, but our wretched brother Thegalyn staring back." Although inhabitants of the Universe would be awed by the presence of just one, let alone a dozen, Demigods, Orochi was unfazed. Its feral mind only registered these entities, however powerful, as threats, and attacked. The Demigods unleashed their powers, believing that they could easily vanquish Orochi, but to their horror Orochi persisted, only growing in strength and responding with equal ferocity.A long battle ensued that moved from world to world, galaxy to galaxy, Orochi constantly pushing the Demigods back. They were caught in a maelstrom of unmitigated chaos. No matter the efforts of the gods, Orochi refused to falter. Each strike against it was responded to with primal rage that blew back the Demigods. Divine energy merely slid off gold and crimson scales, the cosmos itself being torn asunder by gaping maws and stomping feet. Elemental fury flashed across space, sufficient in wounding the Demigods caught in the blast. Mindless destruction could not be contained, and all the Universe could see the cataclysm tearing its way towards them.The impossible was happening: the Demigods were being exhausted and weakened while their foe only grew stronger still. Nothing seemed to be able to stop Orochi as it bashed the embodiments of the Universe, and if it killed even one of them the Universe would collapse, unable to continue without one of its fundaments. If the gods could not stop Orochi, there was little hope. Confucius, the Demigod of Light, downed by a direct blast from a thunderous inferno, could only watch as the monster moved in for the kill. But as he was a part of the Universe itself, everything pulsed for a moment. Every light in existence converged on the one who embodied it, and the other Demigods felt their divine strength being absorbed by their brother. They willingly gave themselves to this process, depleting their own essence, granting Confucius the full strength of an entire existence.

"It was said that just when the Lambs were consumed by the Cataclysm, the nucleus returned and manifested within an ardent sun. If Orochi was ruination, the Sentinel was salvation."

From a ball of light greater than any seen before, Confucius, now as an awe-inspiring entity called the Sentinel, stepped forth, reinvigorated by energy equivalent to that of the Big Bang itself. With his siblings now powerless, Confucius stood as the last hope against Orochi. And as before, despite the incredible power right before it, Orochi was unfazed. It immediately continued its ballistic assault. A spectacular duel erupted that brought tears to even gods. Each strike either of these titans made was enough to cause cracks in reality itself. Despite Confucius's new strength as the Sentinel though, it was hardly an easy battle. Despite his glory, trepidation still reigned in the hearts of all, as the battle seemed to have no end. Long cycles passed as pure light clashed against elemental chaos. Giant blade splintered crimson scales, while mountainous teeth ravaged golden armor. Despite Confucius's determination and great strength, Orochi's sheer brutality and rage put a strain on him, and the multi-headed serpent was breaking the Sentinel. With the Universe's last hope faltering, everyone fell silent to accept their fate. The Sentinel lay downed as Orochi raised its head and body, determined to seal the end. But in a last desperate act, Confucius swung his mighty blade at the monster one last time. The strength of all powered this attack and, in a roar, cleaved through the heads of Orochi. When next Confucius looked up, he was met with the beheaded form of his foe. The serpent stood for just five clicks before its body collapsed. After a grueling battle, Orochi was finally killed, and the Universe rejoiced at this victory.

Though everything was left badly scarred, everything still stood. The powers of the Sentinel were released, restoring the Universe's state and his siblings' strength. The Demigods once again took to their thrones outside of observation, while the Order rebuilt itself, and everything gradually recovered from the cataclysm of the past events and Orochi's rampage. Some groups wanted to study the remnants of Orochi, but it was said any who acquired a piece were destroyed the dreaded Reaper in the Dark. Of the pieces acquired though, the five heads of Orochi were never found, nothing located in the sites where the Sentinel had decapitated them. The common claim is that they simply faded from existence, perhaps said to bring comfort in the thought that Orochi would never return.Many solar-cycles later however, when the Order was raiding a temple being used by the Cult of the Fallen One, they reported the temple was in fact the skull of one of Orochi's heads. It is unknown if the Cult merely found and made use of the skull, or if there are darker implications to this.

No real insights at the moment. Update on Orochi's form (What does it say when that even with the freedom cheat on, you can't even complete the outline of your creature on Spore?) as well as its story. Its story is tied into the popular Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (well I used five, because why should I have to choose between either Conquest or Pestilence?), combining Japanese mythology and a Biblical tale to create a unique plot. Big, bad, scary monster of destruction.Yeah...This is how I spend my Friday nights, spending hours alone making shit up.